Western New York Bowhunting Festival

The 15th Annual Western New York Bowhunting Festival at Swain Resort. Activities for archers of all types; uniquely situated on 100+ wooded acres. The festival offers attendees a wide variety of educational & participatory experiences, including Compound Archery, Traditional Archery, Trapping, Tracking, and more.

Enter to win door prizes! Compete on the competition course for the grand prize sponsored by DWS Outdoors in Dansville, NY!

Plus, vendors, live music Saturday night, camping, and more!

Quick links:

• Get Tickets – COMING SOON!
• Schedule
• Course Rules
• Camping
• Vendors
• Sponsors

Presented in part by :

Activities Include:

• Four 3D Archery Courses
• Two Shooting Ranges
• Kids Shooting Range
• Balloon Shoot
• Archery Competition
• Vendors & Dealers

Shooting Rates – COMING SOON

•  – Weekend Pass
•  – Friday Only
•  – Saturday Only
•  – Sunday Only
• Kids 11 & under shoot for free! (adult supervision required)
• Spectators for the event are also FREE

Competition Prizes – COMING SOON

Must be present Sunday to win door prize drawings.

Event Schedule

Check back for new seminars & events to be added!

Friday, Aug 22:

12pm – 6pm: Registration
1pm – Dusk: Lower Archery Course (Swamp Trail)/Range open (No chairlift)
4pm – 7pm: Inside grill in the lodge

Saturday, Aug 23

7am – 7pm: Food and Beverage available in the main lodge
7am – Dusk: Archery Courses Open
8am – 5:00pm: Ski Lift Open
8am – 4pm: Competition Course – Card needs to be turned in by 4:30
9am – 5pm: Vendor Booths Open inside and outside main lodge
12pm: Kids’ Balloon Shoot at Kids’ Range
4pm – 7pm: Live Music – Josh Wolf
5pm: Competition Shootout – Between the top 4 scores in each class (pro, hunter, traditional, women’s/youth)

Sunday, Aug 24

7am – 2pm: Food and Beverages available in main lodge
7am – 4pm: Archery Courses Open, (8am—4pm: Ski Lift Open)
8am – 11am: Competition Course – Card needs to be turned in by 12:00
10:00am: Kids’ Balloon Shoot (at Kids’ Range)
9am – 2pm: Vendor Booths Open inside and outside main lodge
12:30pm: Sunday Competition Shootout – Between the top 4 scores in each class (pro, hunter, traditional, women’s/youth)
Directly Following the Shoot-out: Door Prize Drawing (Must be present to win)

Competition Course Rules

HOURS:

Saturday:
8am-4pm – Cards turned in by 4:30pm
Shootoff: 5:30pm

Sunday:
8am-11am – Cards turned in by 11:30am
Shootoff:12:00pm

RULES:

COST: $10.00
Pro class will shoot from the red stake. Hunter class will shoot from the orange stake.

Traditional and Women’s/Junior class will shoot from the blue stake.

Pro Class – All shooters qualify for this class. Shooters may use range finders. This class is for the best of the best.

Hunter Class – Fixed pins must be used, crosshairs or circle style pins without lens or magnification. If circle style pins are used, all circles must be the same size. Sights may not be adjusted after entering the course. Stabilizers may not be more than 12 inches long. Shooters may use range finders.

Traditional Class – Longbows, recurves, flat-bows, self-bows, are allowed in this class. Take downs are allowed. Any arrow material may be used. No sights or pins may be used. No elevated rest. All arrows must be shot from the shelf.

Women’s/Youth Class – This class is for women and youth (12-16). Any bow of choice can be used.

Misc. Rules and scoring:
Shooting Stakes – Pro class will shoot from the red stake. Hunter class will shoot from the orange stake. Traditional/Women’s-Youth class will shoot from the blue stake. Shooters must touch the stake with their front foot.

Scoring – Scoring will be 11 for the center circle, 10 for the next ring out, 8 for the outer ring. A miss is scored as a 0. Hits anywhere outside the kill zone are classified as wounding the animal, and are scored as a (-5).

Competition and awards – To make it to the finals a shooter must score in the top four of any given class. If a tie occurs we will use the total score of five targets which we feel are some of the more challenging targets. If a tie is still present we will count the number of elevens. Any ties after that will be settled by a sudden death shoot off.

Scorecards must be turned in at 4:30 on Saturday and Sunday at 11:30. The shootout is on 5:30 on Saturday and 12:00 on Sunday.

SHOOT OUT:
The shootout consists of three targets at different ranges. Meet at the T-Shirt booth for the shootouts. No range finders allowed during the shoot-out.

Arrow needs to be inside the line to count for a score. ie. If an arrow is touching the 10 ring but most of the arrow is in the 8 it counts as an 8.

Camping

Primitive camping is available. Camping is $7 per person, per/day. RV’s are welcome. Register and pay right at the gate.

For more information on lodging accommodations and pricing, please email [email protected].

Vendors

Interested in becoming a Bowhunting Festival vendor? We’re accepting applications NOW! Fill out the vendor application below and a member of our staff will be in touch!

Vendor Application

Sponsors

Please contact Heather at 607-545-6511 or [email protected] if you are interested in sponsoring this event for 2024.